Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Increases Stake in Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in shares of Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX) by 30.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,949 shares of the asset manager’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Blackstone were worth $758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Blackstone in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Blackstone during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 70.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BX has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Blackstone from $155.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Blackstone from $148.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Blackstone from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Blackstone from $112.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Blackstone from $169.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Blackstone has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.38.

Blackstone Stock Performance

Shares of BX stock opened at $166.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $119.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.15. Blackstone Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.59 and a 12-month high of $175.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Blackstone Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.86 per share. This represents a $3.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from Blackstone’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 28th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio is 121.55%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider John G. Finley sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $4,610,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 429,386 shares in the company, valued at $56,567,311.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Baratta sold 116,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.81, for a total value of $17,561,522.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 799,749 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,610,146.69. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Blackstone

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.